Outside of IndieMusic, the section dedicated to music, there are several films which bridge the gap between music and cinema. A selection of films composed of road movies, biographical references and creative processes.
Paulo Furtado (The Legendary Tigerman), Rita Lino and Pedro Maia decided to travel through the Californian desert. The result is Fade Into Nothing, a road movie which will give birth to an album, which fearlessly follows a man’s path towards nothingness. A fake diary shot in super 8 mm, which blends together the musician’s writings and luminous grainy images. On May 7th and 12th, at Cinema São Jorge. Benjamin Smoke is the unorthodox portrayal of the drag queen lead singer of Opal Foxx (later renamed Smoke), a renegade, ethereal, accelerated, homosexual, drug-dependent creature with HIV and Hepatitis C. Directed by Jem Cohen in collaboration with Peter Sillen and Patti Smith, this documentary follows a person’s path towards death. May 13th at Cinema São Jorge. To say that Instrument is one of the most vibrant films about music ever made may seem exaggerated, but it is not. This Cohen film, edited with the help of the musicians themselves, is a potpourri of sounds, images, video, concerts, recordings and interviews about the life and work of the Fugazi, this inescapable reference in the reinvention of hardcore punk. Cinema São Jorge, on May 12th. Somniloquies plunges into the dreams of New York lyricist Dion McGregor, known as the person who talked during his sleep, more than anyone else in the world. The film by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel will be screened on May 9th and 11th at Culturgest and Cinema Ideal, respectively. 2 + 2 = 22 [The Alphabet] is the first part of the Streetscapes series where Heinz Emigholz combines architecture with music by paying a visit to the elegant music studio where the band Kreidler records the album ABC. Screened at Culturgest on May 4th. The universe of music is also focused on in the Director’s Cut section with Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith, by Stuart A. Staples (Tindersticks), a silent narrative which opens space for further reading of the original work carried by the British documentary filmmaker. Tindersticks scorred the film themselves and is screened on May 10th, at Cinemateca Portuguesa.
Between May 3rd and May 14th, it will also be possible to watch the documentaries dedicated to cult bands and musical movements of IndieMusic: Twerkumentary (Diana Manfredi), Bunch of Kunst (Christine Franz), The Man From Mo’Wax (Matthew Jones) Revolution of Sound. Tangerine Dream (Margarete Kreuzer), A Story of Sahel Sounds (Neopan Kollektiv), Liberation Day (Morten Traavik, Ugis Olte), Where You’re Meant to Be (Paul Fegan), Talasnal (John Teotonio), Beatbox, Boom Bap Around The World (Pascal Tessaud), Oasis: Supersonic (Mat Whitecross), Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present (Tyler Hubby), Tokyo Idols (Kyoko Miyake), Eat That Question – Franz Zappa in his Own Words (Thorsten Schütte) and Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra Rock (Barnaby Clay).